Between the pillar of state and social stigma : military reform and military exile in Chosŏn Korea, 1863–1894
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Asian Studies, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Kim, Jinsung
issued: 2025-04-25T20:55:26Z
issued: 2025
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: This dissertation, entitled “Between the Pillar of State and Social Stigma: Military Reform and Military Exile in Chosŏn Korea, 1863–1894,” examines military reform policies and the concurrent enforcement of military exile from 1863 to 1894 during King Kojong’s reign. While the Chosŏn government undertook military reforms to bolster its defenses against escalating foreign threats and emphasized the military’s importance, it paradoxically employed military service as punitive measures for offenders, adhering to traditional legal norms. This study argues that, contrary to the prevailing perception of military reform as a process of “modernization,” the Chosŏn government’s policies remained deeply entrenched in traditional values, prioritizing civil over military ideals and lacking any objective to fundamentally transform the military system. Furthermore, the sustained implementation of military exile underscored King Kojong and the ruling class’s perception of military service as a form of social disgrace. This dissertation is organized into three chronological chapters. Chapter One reexamines the characteristics of military policies, the changing status of military officials within the government, and the development of military exile during Taewŏn’gun’s regency from 1863 to 1873. Chapter Two explores King Kojong’s military reform policies, which reversed Taewŏn’gun’s major military agenda, including military exchanges with foreign states, efforts to strengthen royal guards, and the expansion of military exile to enforce national policies during the king’s first decade of direct rule between 1873 and 1884. Chapter Three examines King Kojong’s military policies and the enforcement of military exile during his second period of direct rule (1884–1894), highlighting Chosŏn’s continued reliance on Qing China’s military forces—grounded in traditional international relations—and the persistent implementation of military exile until the Kabo Reform of 1894. Through the analy…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/90825
note: Between the Pillar of State and Social Stigma: Military Reform and Military Exile in Chosŏn Korea, 1863-1894 by Jinsung Kim A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OT THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2025 © Jinsung Kim, 2025 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Between the Pillar of State and Social Stigma: Military Reform and Military Exile in Chosŏn Korea, 1863-1894 submitted by Jinsung Kim in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Studies Examining Committee: Nam-lin Hur, Professor, Asian Studies, UBC Supervisor Donald Leslie Baker, Professor, Asian Studies, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Leo Shin, Associate Professor, History and Asian Studies, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Steven Lee, Associate Professor, History, UBC University Examiner Bruce Rusk, Associate Professor, Asian Studies, UBC University Examiner Adam Bohnet, Associate Professor, History, King’s University College at the University of Western Ontario External Examiner iii ABSTRACT This dissertation, entitled “Between the Pillar of State and Social Stigma: Military Reform and Military Exile in Chosŏn Korea, 1863-1894,” examines military reform policies and the concurrent enforcement of military exile from 1863 to 1894 during King Kojong’s reign. While the Chosŏn government undertook military reforms to bolster its defenses against escalating foreign threats and emphasized the military’s importance, it paradoxically employed military service as punitive measures for offenders, adhering to traditional legal norms. This study argues that, contrary to the prevailing perception of military reform as a process of “modernization,” the Chosŏn government’s policies remained deeply entre…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2025-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0448574
language: eng
degree discipline: Asian Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Hur, Nam-lin
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/90825